


You Have a Good Heart

by woshuwoo



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, Sensory Overload, autistic travis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:50:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17706329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/woshuwoo/pseuds/woshuwoo
Summary: Becoming a better person is hard. Sometimes you need a little help (or a lot).





	1. Chapter 1

The roar of lunchroom chatter stung in his ears as Travis picked at the meatloaf on his tray with disinterest. His knee bounced a rapid staccato and he chewed the inside of his cheek. His father’s eyes burned into the side of his face from where they stared at him from the cover of the stack of church pamphlets next to his tray. The sounds and smells of the cafeteria were getting to be too much and Travis felt as if he’d been plucked up from Earth so God could stuff his head full of cotton and spin him around before shoving him back into the world to go about his day on his own. 

Travis sat alone at lunch, and usually the isolation was welcome- no one at this school was what he’d exactly call his type- but there were always still people around. From a few seats over a girl with purple hair burst into high pitched laughter that shot pangs of shock down his spine and he felt suddenly nauseated. Shoving himself up from the bench, Travis stumbled away from his table towards the door, barely shoving his father’s pamphlets into his bag before bolting into the hall and around the corner to the boy’s restroom. Lurching into the furthest stall, Travis fumbled with the lock on the door and climbed onto the seat of the toilet, bringing his knees to his chest and hiding his face in them. The straps of his backpack pulled tight across his shoulders and the weight of his books pressing into his back helped ground him as he took deep breaths, eyes squeezed shut and hands over his ears. He hated when he got like this. Who the heck freaked out over nothing like this? It made him furious with himself for being so weak. Travis squeezed his eyes shut tighter and clenched his jaw, willing those angry, self deprecating thoughts away. Another deep breath in, hold it, let it go. Breathe in, hold, let it go, repeat. He echoed these motions of calming down over and over again until his heart calmed it’s panicked beat in his chest. His breath was hot against his face as he heaved into the fabric of his pants against his legs. When he finally felt as if the ground wasn’t tipping out from under him he slid his legs down to the floor and straightened his back. It was then that he finally noticed the tears against his cheeks. His face flushed with anger and embarrassment. His father’s voice chimed in the back of his head, yelling at him that real men didn’t cry. He screwed up his mouth and huffed as he stood up, disappointed in himself. He’d just have to work harder to be like a man. God knew he needed it. 

Standing up, Travis shoved the stall door open, grumbling with annoyance that he now needed to scrub the evidence of his weakness from his face. As he stepped from the stall, he almost collided with someone standing next to the door. Stumbling back, Travis opened his mouth to yell at them, mind racing at how he could explain his tears. The words died as he recognized Sally Face’s familiar prosthetic. His heart seized at the way his blue bangs fell over stupidly pretty blue eyes- eyes that were currently looking at him like he was a kicked puppy.

“I- wh- What are you doing here, Sally Face?” He injected as much venom into the nickname as possible, hands curling into fists on instinct as he tensed up with the fear of another person seeing him like this. Why did it always have to be fucking Sally Face? 

“Are you okay?” He asked, ignoring Travis’ anger. “I saw you run out of the cafeteria and I just… got worried.” He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and Travis felt a blush flame up on his cheeks. Sally was worried about him….

The scene of their last bathroom meeting replayed in his head, Sally’s voice when he said he thought Travis was a good person sounding in his head. With a great deal of effort, Travis uncurled his fists and let himself deflate.

“Uh… I’m okay now I think…” His arms wove themselves around his stomach to hug himself and he swayed with anxiety. What else should he say? Was he supposed to tell him why he was here? Ugh he wasn’t any good at this… being nice to people stuff. Every fiber of his being was telling him to shove Sally out of his way and call him a bitch that should mind his own business. He bit his lip to keep the words from spilling out.

Sal shifted awkwardly as he looked up at him. “Well… I was actually planning on hanging out here during lunch too. Yaknow to… eat… wanna stay with me?”

It was kinda gross to think about, eating lunch in a bathroom. Travis grimaced, looking at Sally with disbelief. ”Don’t you have like… friends or whatever to eat with?” If he sounded bitter, that was no ones business but his own.

“Well yeah but I prefer to eat alone because of… ya know.” He gestured to his face under the mask and Travis assumed he meant he didn’t like taking off his prosthetic in the lunchroom.

“But won’t that still not work? I’m here too.”

“I can stick to snacks.” Travis couldn’t see it from behind the mask, but it sounded like Sally was smiling. He tried not to flush at his voice. 

“I… okay. I don’t really wanna go back to lunch yet anyways so… Sure.”

Sally’s eyes were bright under his mask as he plopped on the ground in front of the sinks. Travis sat more gingerly, kneeling in front of Sally so he wasn’t touching the gross floor too much. Sally had been rummaging in his bag as he adjusted himself and yanked a lunchbox out, dropping it between them. “Do you like carrots?” He asked as he pulled a bowl of applesauce from the box.

Smiling to himself, Travis nodded. “Yeah uh… they’re my favorite. Uhm, vegetable.” He specified and Sally giggled. 

“Sweet.” He tossed Travis a plastic baggie of carrots before stabbing a straw into the foil top of his applesauce and poking the other end of the straw under the chin of his mask. Travis couldn’t help laughing a little and Sally glanced up at him for it.

“That’s… really smart actually.” Travis admitted.

“Tank yew!” Sally exclaimed, mouth full of food. Travis pulled a face and Sally swallowed and laughed. They sat in silence for a few minutes, Travis nibbling on the shared carrots and Sal slurping up his applesauce.

Sal broke the quiet eventually. Of course he did.

“Soooooo…” He started, attempting to toss his empty applesauce into the trash can. It bounced off the wall behind the can onto the floor. “Aw man. Fucking depth perception, man.” He grumbled as he leaned over Travis to grab the container off the floor. It was by God’s mercy that Travis didn’t yelp at Sally’s sudden closeness. He was right next to him! His side brushed Travis’ arm and tingles sparked up it. Nononononoooooooo! Travis held his breath, burning with shame and embarrassment when Sal grabbed his trash and pulled away. Sal fiddled with his pigtails, leaning his back against the tiled wall. “Have you given any thought to my offer? Of hanging out? I know you sit alone all the time at lunch, how bout ya sit with me and my friends tomorrow?”

Travis thought about all of Sally’s friends, of the nice guy Todd he’d been terrorizing since middle school and the girl with dark hair that just last week had shoulder checked him so hard he’d slammed into the wall. He’d almost made a grab at her to tell her to watch her fucking step but Sal had appeared next to her and he decided against it. He knew Larry, Sal’s best friend, hated his guts. If he sat at their table he had a feeling the energy would be dangerous. He’d rather be alone than know he was surrounded by people who despised him. 

“Uh… I dunno. I don’t exactly have the best history with your friends. I know they won’t like me.”

“Oh don’t worry about it, I’ve talked to them.” Sally was so nonchalant but his words almost made Travis choke.

“About me? What???? Why?” 

“Well we’re friends now, right? I don’t want my other friends to hate my new friend, so I told them we were chill now-”

“But you promised not to tell them about my… my- agh!” Travis threw his hands up in frustration, terrified that Sal had inadvertently spread his stupid, terrible,girly display of weakness to the whole school! What would people think of him? What if someone told his dad? What if-

“I didn't! I promise, Trav, I didn't tell them what happened. I just sorta… said that I confronted you about being an asshole and that we talked it out. They know I'm cool with you now, that's all that matters.” Sally reached out for him, grabbing his wrists gently and pulling them down in front of him. “I’m sorry, dude, I didn’t mean to freak you out.”

The way his eyes shone through the mask made Travis sweat. He looked so guilty and worried and he was so close that Travis could see all the different colors in his eyes. He swallowed hard and looked away. “I- It’s okay, Sally. I believe you.”

Sal’s eyes softened. “Good.” He rubbed his thumbs over Travis’ wrists, smoothing them over the skin as he held them. His hands drifted down until he was cupping Travis’ hands in his. Travis felt his breathing pick up at the feeling. Sally’s fingers were cold but his palms felt warmer as they clasped their hands together. Travis felt warm and buzzy all over and dizzy in a good way, a feeling he’d never experienced before. He didn’t know what was happening or what Sally was doing but his head was spinning. He was holding hands with a boy. He was holding hands with Sal Fisher, of all fucking people. Before he could pull away or maybe- just maybe- get closer, the piercing ring of the bell echoed through the bathroom sounding the end of lunch. Sally jumped back in surprise and his hands were yanked away. Travis mourned the loss of their feeling as Sal blinked up at him.

“Um…” Sal said as he stood up on shaky legs. “We should get to class.” He shoved his lunchbox back into his bag and waited for Travis to get up. “So… maybe I’ll see you at lunch tomorrow?” Sal asked,looking hopeful.

“Maybe…” Travis echoed.

Sal gave him a quick nod before turning on his heels and disappearing out the door, leaving Travis alone and very very confused.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time lunch came around the next day, Travis was buzzing with nervous energy. He fiddled with the cross hung around his neck, tugging on the chain as he stood outside the lunchroom doors. What if Sally wasn’t serious about letting him sit with his friends? What if his friends weren’t actually okay with Travis and made him leave? Clenching his jaw, Travis took a deep breath through his nose and stepped forward to push open the door to the cafeteria. It was instantly louder, something that set him on edge. He edged around the side of the room to the lunchline, grabbing a tray of food that he felt too anxious to eat. He paused for just a moment at his usual spot, considering just slipping into his seat and keeping his head down the rest of the lunch period, but a voice calling his name grabbed his attention. 

He looked up and saw Sally a few tables away waving him over. Travis’ gaze flicked to Sally’s friends at the table, none of which seemed particularly happy with the current situation. Travis gulped, making his way to Sally’s table on shaky legs.

Don’t say anything mean. Just be normal. Be nice.  
“Hey Trav!” Sally said cheerfully when Travis reached their table. He patted the empty seat next to him, gesturing for Travis to sit. He did, setting down his tray and glancing around. 

“Okay cool so this is Maple,” Sally gestured to a girl with a silvery fringe who looked completely disinterested in what was happening. She barely even glanced up at her name as Sally continued introductions. “That’s Chug.” A kid with green hair peeking out from under his cap smiled at him through a bite of sandwich. “You already know Todd and Ash…” Sally said quickly and Travis bit back a cringe. Todd avoided his eyes and Ash gave him a wave but he couldn’t tell whether or not she actually wanted him here. “And this is Larry.” Sally’s best friend gave him a shark like grin and the nerves Travis had been fighting sparked up again. He bounced his leg and swallowed hard as he looked out over the group.

“Um hi… I’m Travis- well you already know that but uh…” Travis cringed at how dumb he sounded. It was so much easier to deflect conversation with insults and violence. He’d never really known how to actually talk to people. He tried not to flush as Larry snickered at his lame introduction. Sally looked between them, sensing the tension and quickly spoke up. He started a conversation about an upcoming math test that Travis didn’t try very hard to contribute to.

“What about you, Trav? Are you ready for the test?” Sally nudged him and Travis tried not to cringe. He glanced up at the group, most of which were looking at him.

“Uh… I don’t think so. I’ve never really been that good at math.” Travis shrugged and tried not to freak out in reaction to all the attention on him. His leg bounced even harder than before. All of a sudden, a hand rested on his leg and he almost gasped. Sally had placed a hand on his knee, probably to comfort him, having no idea how the action was now sparking up a barrage of sinful thoughts as Travis’ heart raced. 

“Maybe I could help you study sometime? You could come to my place.” Sally smiled and Travis could barely breathe.

“O-okay yeah that’d be…. Um good.” Travis stuttered out, feeling dizzy.

“Here I can give you my number and we can talk about it later.” He pulled his hand away, something Travis’ guiltily wished he hadn’t done- to pull a marker from his bag. Grabbing Travis’ hand, he scribbled out the number to his landline across the back of his hand.

Travis stared at the number like it was a mutation on his skin, blinking hard as his heart raced. “Oh okay. I… Thanks, Sally.”

“No problem, Trav.” Sally smiled then launched back into conversation with his friends, but Travis couldn’t focus on anything for the rest of lunch. The only thing he noticed was the weird glances Larry threw at him every once in a while, but he had no idea what they meant.

-

The rest of the day, Travis found himself tracing his knuckles where Sally’s palm had rested against them when he wrote down his number. He made sure not to get his hand dirty so he didn’t wash away the number before he got home. He hid his hands under his thighs on the bus ride home, anxiety of sneaking past his father building up. 

When he got home Travis pulled the sleeves of his sweater over his hands, struggling with the key to the front door. If his father saw the writing on his hands he’d have to tell him what it was and his father would never, ever approve. He’d be furious.

“Father? I’m home.” Shutting the door behind him, Travis went down the hall to the living room, finding it empty. Going through the doorway through the kitchen and upstairs, Travis found the door to his father's study closed. He was writing sermons. Adjusting his sleeves, Travis snuck past the door to his room at the end of the hall, quietly shutting his door behind him. He sat down at his desk, suddenly exhausted. He’d wanted to call Sally that night but he didn’t know if he had the energy to do anything besides finish his homework and shower before bed. With a sigh he grabbed the stack of notebooks from his backpack to begin his work.

At around 9 that night, Travis shoved his math homework away in frustration. He’d finished everything else assigned for the night except for this. His anger was interrupted by the grumble of his stomach. Suddenly, Travis remembered how little he’d eaten for lunch that day. He stood from his desk and made his way down to the kitchen. The house was dark but Travis could hear his father moving around in the office upstairs. He grabbed a frozen dinner and peeled the top back, tossing it in the microwave to cook. When he went to wash his hands, he saw the faded number on his hand. Travis glanced at the stairs, listening for his father, but it didn’t sound as if he would be coming down any time soon. Travis took the risk and grabbed the phone off the rack next to the kitchen doorway. He pressed the number on his hand into the keyboard and brought the phone up to his ear. He hoped it wasn’t too late to be calling or that someone besides Sally answered. Travis wrapped the phone cord around his fingers and counted the rings. It rang so many times Travis thought he’d never get an answer, but then-

“Hello?” His voice was even more muffled than usual from the phone’s static, but Travis recognized the greeting as Sally’s.

“Um hi it’s Travis? Uh you gave me your number today.” 

“Trav! Hi! What’s up?” Sally sounded genuinely happy to hear from him, something that still confused Travis.

“Well…” Suddenly, Travis realized he didn’t have a specific reason for calling. He almost panicked before remembering why Sally gave him his number in the first place. “I’m uh still having a lot of trouble with the math homework. Um… maybe I could come over soon and we could… study?” Keeping an ear out for any change in his father’s place upstairs, Travis took a breath and spoke quickly. “My father has charity work on Thursday and won’t be home until late. Can I come over then?”

“Of course! You can take the bus home with me!” Travis thanked God that Sally was so agreeable.

“Okay. Um I have to go but I’ll… see you tomorrow?” Anxiety scratched at his stomach as Travis braced himself for rejection. It wasn’t as if lunch today had gone very well. Sally probably didn’t want him to hang around his friends anymore.

“Yeah! Goodnight, Trav. See you tomorrow!” The line went dead as Sally hung up and Travis felt his breath rush out of him. He hung the phone back up ad slumped against the wall, simultaneously exhilarated and exhausted. After a few moments of leaning on the wall for support, the microwave beeped and Travis straightened. He washed his hands and grabbed his dinner, taking the box upstairs to his room. He couldn’t keep a dumb little smile off his face the rest of the night as he thought about hanging out with Sally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was nervous abt making travis ooc for a hot second before realizing he has almost no characterization anyways so basically i can do whatever i please and if i want to shove all my anxiety shit on him then i WILL


End file.
